Health Spring Recipes

Spring is finally here!  Time to step away from those hearty stews and “stick-to-your-rib” dinners that we find so comforting during the colder months, and move towards cool, refreshing, colorful spring meals.

One of my favorite healthy recipe resources is Eating Well magazine and website. 

Check out 10 Spring Dinners in 30 Minutes .

Also you can find some great recipes and menu ideas for upcoming spring holidays like Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, and Memorial Day.

Pizza! Pizza!

Not sure if this is true with all dietitians, but I like to consider myself someone who likes to eat like everyone else.  Yes, I like fruits, veggies, whole grains, and the occasional tofu dish, but my favorites still include things like pizza. 

And not the whole-grain crust with lite cheese kind (although I’ll eat this too), but the deep dish, butter crust, inch-thick cheesy kind. 

I try, however, to limit my intake of such sinful foods.  The exception in my family is holidays and family celebrations.  This weekend we celebrated my daughter’s 9^th birthday and her meal choice for her party was Lou Malnati’s.

This got me thinking how it compares to other Chicago-style pizza in terms of nutrition status.    Turns out they are pretty comparable.  Check out the nutrition info below for some of our favorite Chicago pizzas.

Nutrition Info for a slice of cheese pizza (approximately 1/4 of a 9” pizza):

Lou Malnati’s

470 calories, 10g saturated fat, 430mg sodium

Gino’s East

435 calories, 7.5g saturated fat, 330mg sodium

Giordano’s Stuffed Cheese

500 calories, 12g saturated fat, 910mg sodium

And just for fun….I wasn’t able to calculate exactly for a comparable sized slice to those above, but I can tell you what’s in an Individual Size Deep Dish from Uno’s.

Uno’s Individual Cheese Deep Dish

1,750 calories, 35g saturated fat, 2,750mg sodium

So the moral to the story is, limit your portions and the frequency with which you eat these pizzas.  And NEVER order the individual pizza!!

References:

http://www.loumalnatis.com/nutritional-info

http://www.ginoseast.com/shop/deep-dish-cheese-pizza-9/

http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/giordanos/cheese-stuffed-pizza

http://www.unos.com/nutrition.php

Top 10 Reasons to Reconsider a Long-term High-Protein Diet

Top 10 Reasons to Reconsider a Long-term High-Protein Diet

1.  Your body, specifically your brain and your heart, needs at least 130g of carbohydrate daily in order to function optimally.

2.  Eating large amounts of animal-proteins may be high in saturated fat, potentially contributing to elevated lipid levels and risk for heart disease.

3.  High-protein diets may not provide adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals that we tend to find in plant-based foods such as whole grains and fruits.

4.  Animal-proteins do not provide fiber, phytochemicals, or antioxidants.

5.  High-protein diets can lead to loss of calcium through the urine. 

6.  Excessive intake of red meat may increase risk for colon cancer.

7.  High-protein diets may be stressful on the kidneys, especially a concern for those with diabetes or kidney failure.

8.  High-protein diets increase risk of dehydration by increasing urine output.

9.  Inadequate carb intake causes your body to break down muscle to make glucose, potentially leading to a loss of lean body mass.

10.  Variety is the spice of life.

Reference:  Wardlaw, G.M. and Smith, A.M.  Contemporary Nutrition.  9^th Ed.  New York: McGraw Hill, 2013.

A National Push for More Home-Cooked Meals

A recent AP article printed by Shaw Media (http://www.nwherald.com/2014/03/14/michelle-obama-cooking-at-home-has-its-advantages/aswk6ge/?page=1) discussed current and future initiatives of the Let’s Move anti-childhood obesity effort by the first lady, Michelle Obama.

In addition to pushing for healthier food products, better school breakfast and lunch programs, and improved Nutrition Facts food labels, the first lady would like to push Americans to make more healthy, home-cooked meals.

As a dietitian and a mom of three, I understand how the typical family struggles with not only healthy eating, but eating at all, with our hectic work schedules, school, and after-school commitments.  I know many families, including sometimes my own, that grab dinner on the way to practice or don’t eat until after 8:00 p.m. 

Eating healthy does take time to plan and execute, but it can be done, even with a busy schedule.  If it can’t, then maybe we should consider the importance of fitting the time in to do it.  Not only for the benefits of eating better, but to preserve that special family time around the table that so many of us miss out on these days.

Follow me on Twitter or check my Facebook page for daily tips this week on how to better fit healthy cooking at home into your schedule.

Welcome to Real Nutrition

At a time where it is more critical than ever, the mission of Kate Olson, MHA, RD, CDE is to improve the overall health of the public through nutrition education and to encourage excellent quality of life through the use of realistic and practical healthy eating advice and the implementation of long-term healthy habits.

Kate Olson, MHA, RD, CDE strives to provide personable, high quality nutrition services by a registered dietitian to anyone looking to make positive and healthy lifestyle changes at a reasonable and transparent cost in a non-judgmental and positive setting. 

This blog is written by me, Kate Olson, MHA, RD, CDE.  I am a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator.  I have been working in the field of nutrition for over 10 years with a focus in outpatient nutrition counseling and diabetes management.  Currently I own a private nutrition counseling practice and teach a nutrition course at a local community college.  

I look forward to sharing realistic and practical nutrition tips, opinions, and information with you through this blog.  I hope you enjoy and find it helpful in learning more about nutrition and how to make healthy changes to your lifestyle.